Conventional wafer carrier systems adhesively bond a process wafer, which may also be characterized as a device wafer, to a carrier for backside processing including substantial thinning of the process wafer, after which the process wafer and carrier are separated. However, conventional laser-release carrier removal systems have temperature constraints, require the use of a glass carrier, and have yield issues Such systems employing thermal slide de-bond methods require thermal plastic adhesive materials that exhibit a low glass transition temperature (Tg) that limit the use of high temperature thermal processes and require thin wafer handling techniques that are difficult to apply to very thin, warped wafers. Other conventional systems employing mechanical de-bond techniques have a narrow process window that applies a large tensile force to the thin wafer.